Reviews and Comments

there seems to be a consensus that the later discworld novels are missing a certain Terry Pratchett spark that the earlier novels had, and i can't disagree with that, but these Tiffany Aching books really stood out to me in the second half of the discworld series. the Aching novels are all basically Witch Books, and this latest one even more so. if you like the witch books, you'll definitely want to read these, but i warn you, bring a tissue box to this one. (^^) personally, i confess i wasn't a huge fan of the original witch books, but i think Tiffany as a character has really softened out all the hard edges that put me off the others. Tiffany is strong without being abrasive, she's kind without being a pushover, and she's grown from a kid who beat the Queen of the Elves on sheer pride and rage into an adult who can lead her whole community in a time of crisis. this sub series even made me a little affection for Granny Weatherwax. (^^) anyhow, this one definitely felt like a goodbye, and i sure did tear up in a couple of places, but it also felt very Tiffany. if you liked the other Witch Books, read these, you'll love them; if you thought the other Witch Books were a little too abrasive, read these, they're good. in short, read these. (^_^) (4 out of 5 stars coz it could have had a bit more humor that wasn't Nac Mac Feegle-based, but i get why it didn't. still good.)

(the only book in the world where it's the footnote in the afterword that gets you.)

i guess i don't have a whole lot to say about this novel, it was just kind of a nice send off. it didn't feel particularly compelling from a plot perspective, but being, by definition, a traveling, round-the-disc (or at least round the Sto Plains) type of novel, it was a nice round up of all the funny place names you've heard of over the course of the whole Discworld series, and Vimes was in it, and so was Vetinari, and Harry King, and even some other watch cameos, so it just felt like a nice, nostalgic trip around the Disc. i'm not sure it was as funny as previous Discworld novels, but i'm not sure it needed to be. i do think that reading it in 2025, when every single thing is suddenly LLMs In Disguise made the whole "wow, technology is great! what WILL people think of next!" hit a bit differently than it was intended, but i'm old enough to remember how it felt to think that the internet could bring us closer together, so i can still see the feeling the ending was intended to stir in me, even if it is a bit distant on the horizon. all in all, well worth a read if you've got all your frequent flier miles punched to the Discworld.

maybe it's because I'm reading this in 2025, maybe it's because several of the Watch books are already about racism, but this one definitely trod some old ground for me. the whole arc of the Watch books are about expanding Ankh-Morpork's idea of who is included as a Person, so the theme fit better here, but it did feel a little reheated. this one was darker and kind of grittier in some places, which I guess I didn't mind, but a fair whack of it was talking about marriage in a very Boomer/"are the straights okay?" kind of way, which got old quick, although the trademark Pratchett humor kept the book from dragging. the riverboat chase scene was a highlight, as was Vimes v Vetinari at the end, and Willikins really made his presence known, but I guess in the end, I felt like this book was a better written rehash of Unseen Academicals.

this feels like an old-school Discworld novel. the structure's really solid, the writing's good, there are some funny moments, and in this case, there are some truly frightening moments as well. the otherworldly antagonist in this book is genuinely scary, and some of the scenes where he's approaching give legit horror movie vibes. nice. also, I love Preston, i love where Tiffany finds herself by the end of the book, i did like seeing all the older witches again, in short, everything i liked about the first two Tiffany Aching books is back, and in full force. i can't wait to read The Shepherd's Crown.

i think i'm going to have to admit to being a Megan Derr stan. (^_^) this one has it all, dragons, danger, sword fights, """sword fights""" um... yeah, suffice it to say i liked this one. it does have what i am coming to think of as the Regular Megan Derr Problem though, which is a protagonist with major self-esteem issues who cannot believe that anyone could ever love him, even when presented with what the reader might feel is Pretty Solid Evidence To The Contrary. in this case however, i'm going to have to let it slide, because Remi has had it Rough. this man's parents really did him Dirty, and then when he finally thought he was going to have something good happen to him it turned out his parents had actually done him Super Dirty, and that doesn't even mention the part where nobody told him about [redacted]. i do think it carried on just a chapter or two too long, once it was clear that the love interests [redacted], but it wasn't enough to knock more than a half a star off for me. i love the way Remi started to come into his own as the story went on, it felt like who he already was just came into sharper focus. in fact, everybody felt like a real person, the love interests, the best friend - i can't wait for his story - just everybody, and i felt like the world building was enough to leave me wanting more. it sounds like there are three other books coming in this series, so i've got my wallet ready. 2/5 spicies, there are a couple of scenes, but they're late in the book and relatively short (hot tho); 5/5 stars, i wanted to read it again basically the instant i was done with it.

i admit i have no interest in any kind of sportsball, so i didn't really expect this one would be for me, and indeed it wasn't. parts of it were quite funny, i will always accept Drunk!Vetinari, and i did like Mister Nutt... i don't know, the characters were all good, i think the plot is where it failed to grab me. it kinda took too long to take off, and i'm not sure football had anything to do with actually solving Nutt's problem except that they both happened to take place in the same book. anyway, i love Drunk!Vetinari, so chatty, and he does drop a few bars, so i don't regret reading it.

very funny, and has a lot of Vetinari in it, which i always enjoy, but i don't know... maybe it's because i took a break for a couple of days in the middle, but it seemed a little off somehow? like, i was following all the different threads, you know, assuming that they'd eventually all come together, but somehow when they did, i was kind of surprised? i had the feeling in the beginning that the golems were only there because Spike needed to be in the story (more Spike please) and that's her entire gig, but then of course about halfway through it becomes pretty obvious what they are and where they're going to end up, and i don't know. i mean, i get the joke, and i'm not sure how else Moist was supposed to get out of it, but it felt a little deus ex machina? despite the earlier set up??? i guess i'm just not sure (slight spoilers i guess, but it's pretty obvious by about halfway through if you've ever read another T Pratchett book) why we needed to replace the gold at all??? i also thought that Moist getting into banking was a bit forced. i'm not sure anyone could have recreated the magic of how Moist got into Post Office-ing, so i was curious how Pratchett was going to work this one, and i'm having trouble coming up with a rational reason why it didn't work for me, but it just didn't. Maybe Going Postal was a little too good in that sense, and it spoiled me for the rest of Moist's books? anyhow, Mr Bent's whole story line was hilarious - "Watch out! He's got a daisy!" "Yes, I know," is possibly the funniest exchange in any Discworld novel - and there's a couple of Watch cameos too... anyway, all in all, it's not a /bad/ novel, i think it's just that having read 35 other Discworld novels, i know how good they can be, and this one's just kind of... normal. meh, 4 out of 5 stars, glad i read it, but wouldn't read it again.

tldr kinda drags in the latter parts, but overall a good read.

things i liked: - seeing the elder witches. always nice to see Nanny Ogg, and i love the world building that comes from seeing the whole community. - i'm finding i like Granny Weatherwax more in the Tiffany Aching books that i did in the original witch books. she's still her same old curmudgeonly self, but maybe because we're seeing her through Tiffany's eyes, she doesn't feel so off-putting. - the thing with Rob Anybody and the cow book? so good. brought a tear to me eye. (^^) - annagramma. ugh. intellectually? great, wonderful, fine. emotionally? i get so annoyed when obnoxious people turn out to be alright human beings after all. (^^)

things i didn't like: - i'm not sure why Sir Terry chose to structure this book this way, with the high-intensity scene at the beginning, and then barely even referenced again when it came up chronologically. it felt kind of unnecessary, as well as affecting... - the pacing. this book definitely dragged a little, i would say starting just past the mid point, and continuing until the whole ice castle scene. i think part of that is because that one scene is yanked out and put in the beginning. there's just a chunk of intensity that's not there any more. it's like the whole narrative jammed to a halt, and the reader has to say, oh yeah, this is that part i read about literally 75% of this book ago and kinda low key don't remember that well because it didn't make a lot of sense to me at the time. i almost felt compelled to flip back to the beginning of the book and re-read that scene again, now knowing it's proper context. i don't know, i /know/ Sir Terry can write, so i'm sure there's a good reason for it, i'm just not sure what that reason is.

things i will never stop thinking about: - the memory eaters in the underworld. this book came out in, what, 2007? he had to have know by then. absolutely devastating section in the middle of an otherwise perfectly normal Discworld novel. this is the kind of thing that made me nervous of reading these last dozen books in this series when they first came out. holy crap. (T_T)

maybe not the best discworld book, but surely close. every time the Cow book was brought up was better than the last, until The Final Reading, which was both hilarious and appropriately jarring when you realize what's been going on. it was a little shocking to hear Vimes say he had everything he needed, and, like, seem to really be satisfied for once. nice, actually, but a little weird too. what a long way Sam Vimes has come from the gutter where we first found him. (^^) and of course, Sybil can show up in any book any time as far as I'm concerned, and the whole thing with Angua and Sally and Tawneee-- sorry, Betty was hilarious. and I like Nobby more with each book, I swear something must be wrong with me. (^^) anyway, this is a prime example of how deft Sir Terry could be with characters, and how real Sam Vimes feels to me. Interesting Times was still funnier, but this was a damn fine book.

so this is actually my second read through of this book, the first one being over 15 years ago. I only remembered finding this book a little boring, and thinking Moist was low key obnoxious. frankly, I don't know what the heck was wrong with me. this book is hilarious. I'm also realizing how many other "stand alone" discworld novels feature proto-Moists. anyhow, Vetinari is at his tyrannical best, Moist is hilarious and layered, Miss Dearheart is hardly even in this novel but is easily my favorite character, and the idea of dueling con men is more relevant than ever. strong five stars.

The priest was impressed. “Are you a theologian, sir?” he said. “I’m in . . . a similar line of work,” said Moist.

boom roasted (^_^)